…Only Missy exists, for now. The young girl, the girl named Melissa? She is dead. She doesn’t know when her past self died, but she is certain that the death of her parents was a major cause of Melissa’s passing. But maybe, just maybe, that girl Melissa can be revived. It may take years. Many years until she is redeemed. But when that time comes, Melissa Alice McDive will live once more.

A mysterious event takes place, and then the opening titles roll. The gang rides into town and gets themselves involved in the mystery. Clues are collected and a trap is set, leading to a musical chase sequence. Our creep-of-the-week is unmasked, and is revealed to be someone they met earlier in the episode. Scooby-Doo does something funny, and the end credits roll. That, my friends, was the simple formula of the Scooby-Doo series for the past few decades. And it has worked well for their several years of crime-solving. While Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue did attempt to change-up the formula, it did so in a way that made it no longer feel like Scooby-Doo. The DTVs lampshaded the formula, and made homages to past incarnations, but they never truly broke away from the popular Scooby formula. And now comes Mystery Incorporated, which tosses out the old continuity and begins anew. Is deviating from the formula a good way to go, or would it have been better to stick with the tried-and-true? It is time to take a visit to a town called Crystal Cove, and check out…

There is nothing but silence in this misty fog...

Unlike past installments which had Mystery Inc. traveling the world and being praised for their work, this series has our main characters as teenagers living in a small tourist town called Crystal Cove. Instead of being applauded for their mystery-solving prowess, they’re disliked by the police chief and their parents wish them to cease this activity. All this group of teens (and their meddling dog) want is to solve and honest-to-goodness mystery, and it seems like they finally have their chance. To spoil a story-arc that already long spoiled by the sneak peek months ago, it becomes apparent that there truly is a deep-dark mystery behind this town. The characters are “stuck” in Crystal Cove, a hub for all sorts of paranormal activity. An idea like this isn’t necessarily bad: it forces creativity and can give way for some pretty interesting stories. Crystal Cove is a nice mixture of the 60s/70s and modern-day, with the general atmosphere being that of nostalgia; respect for the original series was quite evident.

That said, the character designs are reminiscent of those from Where Are You?, with the original outfits and such things are Shaggy’s dot eyes making a return. Unlike WAY, the characters are far less stiff and move smoothly across the screen. Nothing seems jerky with character movements, with the simple character models happening greatly with that. The entire show is colorful and vibrant: the background designs are wonderful, achieving a nice watercolor look. There is little I can say about the art: everything works, and works together well.

"Good thing we aren't in this to be liked."

The stories are episodic, but with each one building up to the climax: the reveal of the secret of Crystal Cove though the use of major clues recovered sometime past episode. Other than The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, this is the only Scooby series that has an over-arcing plot. Mystery Incorporated also shares something with What’s New Scooby-Doo, in that the characters have real personality beyond their base attribute. Shaggy is a big eater and coward, as he always was. But some insecurity and intelligence is presented at times, in his relationship with Velma and when it comes to making plans. Velma is more than a genius in this series, becoming a bit of a cynic and more prone to anger. Fred is still the man who comes up with the traps, but he is also more one-track minded and is oblivious to Daphne’s affection. We also see Daphne’s attempts to get Fred to notice her as more than a friend. SDMI is just as much about the human characters as it is about their Great Dane. The humor is well-done and the chase scenes are still decent, despite the lack of musical accompaniment.

Slime monsters invoke great dread...

At the end of the day, I find Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated to be one of the best installments of this series. If you weren’t a fan a Scooby-Doo before, then this series might be the one to bring you into the franchise. If you are a fan, then expect some surprises. And if you just the average viewer, then I greatly insist that you check out the adventures of these kids and dog at least once.

Another year, another installment of the Total Drama series. Premiering in 2008 with little promotion by the network, the series has gone on to become a ratings darling for Cartoon Network. Why the reality show spoof continues to be so popular with the network’s target audience is beyond me: is it the characters? The humor? The jokes? Or is it the simple idea of a group of teenagers being tortured by their sadist host that brings in viewers, that coaxes the network to renew year after year. First the “island,” then a film studio, and now a musical trip across the world. Time to dive head first into the third installment of this series, that goes by the name of…

Unlike Total Drama Island which took place on an “island,” or Total Drama Action which took place on an abandoned film lot, Total Drama World Tour has the characters traveling the globe. From France, to Egypt, to London, our seventeen contestants face challenges that correspond to wherever they currently are. In Egypt? Go through pyramids and ride camels. Japan? Wacky Japanese game show. An added bonus is the fact that they must also sing at random times (at least once) during the program. These random musical numbers, mixed with the locale, can lead to some funny situations and character interactions.

World Tour has two new characters entering the fray, by the names of Sierra and Alejandro. Sierra is a crazed fan of the reality show, and due to a strange series of events that took place during the between-season special, Celebrity Manhunt, was able to compete. Less is known about Alejandro, who can also be classified as our “villain” for the season, using his charm and wit to advance in the game. Other than them, the rest of our cast of seventeen is made-up of returning favorites who are carrying baggage from the previous two seasons. Some of the characters that have developed the most throughout the previous 52 episodes & 2 specials are Gwen, Duncan, and Courtney who have formed a little love triangle. Some of these returners, however, have yet to develop much past the stereotypes of Island. Due to me putting a lot of stake in character development when in comes to entertainment of any kind, I find theis a problem and I desperately hope will be remedied in future episodes.

♫ Come fly with us!!!! ♫

Unlike previous seasons, creators Pertsch and McGillis have little involvement with the actual production. Despite this, the writing and storyboarding doesn’t suffer: in fact, it has improved from the quality of Action, managing to keep my attention at all times. There were several times throughout the first episode of this season where I found myself laughing at the dialogue, the situations, or both. More than I can say for Island, and far more than I can say for Action. Past seasons pale in comparison when it comes to writing quality of this season. I also find it worth noting that the animation has also improved. Everything feels more vibrant and the characters all move less stiffly. This personally makes it more bearable to for me to watch.

If you weren’t a fan of the first two seasons, don’t expect this hold too much value for you, as the style of humor is very much the same. If you were a fan, then I’d be surprised if you weren’t watching this series already, as it is a massive leap in quality over the previous two installments.